Monster movie par excellence!

Rating: 8/10 (13 July 2013)

O dear God! Some horrible things are happening! Huge alien creatures called Kaiju have mysteriously popped out of the ocean and started stomping all over the humans! Humans decide to approach this problem by constructing giant robots (Jaegers) to stomp the monsters right back. Now years into the Kaiju war, the program is about to be replaced by a dodgy wall building plan. Raleigh Beckett one time top gun Jaeger pilot is headhunted by his old boss Stacker Pentecost (sexy 'ole Idris Elba ladies!). Things have become desperate the Kaiju are becoming larger and more prolific as humanity's last stand rapidly approaches. The remnants of the Jaeger program, a rag tag band of crack pilots, loopy scientists and frazzled techies must now save the world using only their vintage Jaegers, brains and grit!
Human performances are as good as they can be while being utterly dwarfed by the monstrous stars of this show. Themes are quite male oriented for the most part centering on father/son, friendship and brotherly relationships. This focus on the intimate and familial relationships between the lead characters contrasts nicely with the towering apocalyptic grandiosity that surrounds them. There is comic relief from resident mad scientists Newton and Gottlieb and also in the form of a fantastically fun cameo from Ron Pearlman as gangster Hannibal Chau.
The few ladies that appear in this movie are as tough as nails. Japanese Jaeger pilot Mako is a very respectable female lead she's smart and as tough as the manly specimens who surround her. It's absolutely wonderful to see a female character as capable as her in a summer blockbuster, Well done GdT for espousing widespread ethnic diversity in casting and the inclusion of strong female characters too, that is VERY nice to see.
Now on to what this film is all about, HUGE robots fighting AWESOME monsters! The attention to detail in production is absolutely stunning in this film. The Jaegers look battered, grungy and battle fatigued. Effects like this take a keen eye and a lot of attention to detail. You get a true sense that these are ageing veteran battle-bots who are the last of their kind. There were mutterings of comparisons to Gundam amongst the guys I went along with. The Kaiju are likewise worthy adversaries with respectful references to vintage Godzilla the obvious comparison. The Jaegers and Kaiju literally eat up the screen, Pacific Rim is THEIR movie and I can only salute GdD and the team that brought them to life so wonderfully.
Who would enjoy this film? I think pretty much anybody. Kiddies are going to pee their pants over this, I think if I was a kid it would probably be the coolest thing I ever saw. I watched it with four male friends and my 17 year old son and they all absolutely loved it, it was opening night and there were not that many women in the theatre so I can only offer my own opinion that it was fantastic and that women will also enjoy it (The fact that 'Driss Elba looks so damn fine in his Jaeger armor didn't influence my opinion at all of coursenonever!)
So what are you waiting for? Go see this right now, it's THE blockbuster of the summer. Unmissable!